Are you looking for a place to stay in Kootenai with your horse? Camping with horses is a beautiful way to experience nature. These scenic and easy-to-reach Idaho campsites are perfect for your horse camping excursion.
$12 - $29 / night
Priest Lake camping features 151 campsites, and 5 cabins. Priest Lake State Park lies just 30 miles from the Canadian Border, nestled deep below the crest of the Selkirk Mountains. Surrounded by the natural beauty of Northern Idaho and mile-high mountains, Priest Lake State Park sits along the eastern shores of Priest Lake, a 19-mile long, over 300 foot deep lake. Amenities include showers, flush toilets, dump stations, full service park store with gasoline. Activities include hiking mountain biking, cycling, fishing, boating, swimming, horseshoeing, water sports, volleyball, disc gold
$49 - $55 / night
The Bull River Guard Station was built in 1908 as the Ranger's house and office. This structure was a primary ranger station from 1908 to 1920, surviving the legendary 1910 fires that swept through the area. The cabin was home to Granville "Granny" Gordon (District Ranger), his wife and three daughters. Full vehicle access to the cabin depends on weather conditions. The road is normally plowed within 1 mile of the cabin during winter months.
The Bull River is 24.7 miles long from its headwaters to where it meets the Cabinet Gorge Reservoir. Fish species include westslope cutthroat trout, large scale sucker and mountain whitefish. Visit the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks website for fishing regulations and hunting seasons and permits. Hikers might be interested in two excellent day hiking options located near the guard station: the Pilick Ridge Trail #1036 and the Berray Mountain Trail #967. Both lead to lookouts with impressive views of the Cabinet Mountains. The Berray Mountain Lookout tower, built in the 1930's, is listed on the National Historic Lookout Register. For those interested in horseback riding, there is plenty of opportunity to explore the surrounding land. Stock animals are not allowed in the cabin area, but visitors may tie up across the road or 50 yards behind the station. As always, certified weed free hay is required on all Forest Service lands.
The Bull River Guard Station is located in the Cabinet Mountain Range near the East Fork of the Bull River in the Kootenai National Forest. The Cabinet Mountains were named by early French settlers who thought the mountains had a cabinet-like appearance when viewed from the valley floor. The cabin is located minutes from from the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness area which is home to a large range of wildlife from the high rocks of the mountain goat, mountain sheep, pika and golden eagle, to the lower slopes and brushy canyon bottoms of the beaver, woodrat, and beautiful Western Tanager. Fall foliage in this area is truly stunning with a wonderful assortment of Mountain Maple scarlets, Mountain Ash reds, Alder browns, and the Larch golden yellows.
$75 / night
Photo of the thorofare which connects Upper Priest Lake to Priest Lake and provides access to Upper Priest Lake campgrounds.Plowboy Campground is loacted on the southwest shores of Upper Priest Lake, with majestic views of the Selkirk Crest. Five campsites are furnished with fire rings, picnic tables, and bear-proof storage boxes. Plowboy is easily accessed by boat or by the Navigation Trail. Please note that this campground has a Pack It In, Pack It Out policy on all garbage.
Traveler
Great tent camping. Also, it's a great starting point to some really good dirt bike trails. Be prepared for no cell service. 0 amenities. it's just a place to pitch a tent and have a fire. And it cost nothing.
Ranger
I recently spent a few days at this campground, and overall, it was a pleasant experience. The highlight of the trip was definitely the beautiful lake, which provided a serene backdrop for the entire stay. The surroundings are peaceful abd there is a lovely trail around the lake and an extensive set of trails heading up into the mountain behind the lake as well as a trail to a pond with a dam which is quite peaceful.
The swimming area is nice with kind of sandy beach, but there is a bit of seaweed in the swimming area. There are also two docks perfect for fishing. I had a great time casting off from them and even caught a couple of crappies and trout which was a nice bonus. However, one downside was some road noise, which occasionally disrupted the peaceful atmosphere, especially in the evenings. It wasn’t overwhelming, but it was noticeable enough to mention. Additionally, the campground and swim area can get very busy during peak summer weekends. If you're looking for a quieter experience, it might be best to visit during the off-season or on weekdays. All in all, the campground is a solid choice for anyone looking to enjoy nature, fish, or swim in a beautiful lake. Just be prepared for a little road noise and crowds if you visit during popular times.
Guide
This was a great spot! The camp hosts, Dan and Steve, were very friendly. We loved how large the sites and overall area was, so we could back our rig in easily (40ft long x 13.5ft tall.) There were a lot of open sites, even during the holiday weekend, and even with people on either side, we didn’t feel like we were on top of anyone else. A really great central place to hang so we could check out the surrounding area.
As some others mentioned:
Scout
I’ve been camping at Priest for 30 years now and can honestly say this is the grungiest, stinkiest spot i’ve ever seen at this lake. The sites are super close together, it looks like someone hack-job attempted to do some clear cutting with zero attempt to cleanup and it literally smells as though the last camper dumped a weeks worth of black water all over our site. I’ll never book this spot again
Legend
It’s Saturday and no one is here but me. Picnic tables, metal fire rings with grills, vault toilets. Big pretty pine trees! I get one bar of Verizon service but it’s not very useful.
LegendNoted, they have planted trees but it is going to be a while for them to mature before they provide shade. 90+ degrees was brutal in this tar paved. All else was excellent: sites are large, well laid out, grassy areas, hookups are all new, location is convenient to everything as this is a pretty small town, areas to walk dogs in the fairgrounds. Dog friendly in general. Breweries within walking distance.
ScoutReally nice and clean campground perfectly situated to explore Coeur d'Alene and the area. The camphost was super friendly and always happy to help. We were staying on a tent place but in a van. If you're planning to sleep in a tent just be aware that tents have to be placed on a gravel pad. But other than that we would really recommend this place.
ScoutThis park is only 5 years old and gets better every year. Bathrooms and shower house are open. Free WiFi added in 2023. Previous host has been replaced with two new hosts who are very freindly. One host has lived in the area for many years and is very helpful with tips about things to do and see, including where to get 25 cent ice cream cones! The roads and sites are all paved. The price is reasonable for an RV park in the center of a busy resort area.
TravelerBeautiful & clean campground with friendly staff. Quiet area and not over crowded. Pet friendly. Lots of trail hiking and a pretty lake for kayaking, swimming, etc. My only complaint was not enough grassy areas and all campgrounds were just dirt. So keeping RV clean was difficult with myself and dogs going in and out despite having mats to wipe off feet/shoes.
TravelerThere were a lot of people there. Even on some of the rougher hiking trails there were always people around, so if your looking for seclusion, round lake might not be for you. The fishing was amazing though, and the view is beautiful. There are lots of hiking trails nearby, and there are some cool features, like beavers dams and little ponds filled with fish. The bugs weren’t bad either, there were almost no mosquitoes or spiders.
GuideWe were very pleased with this RV park! We stayed for two nights so my wife could attend a conference. This facility is located very near the general Fairgrounds and next to the horse park. No horses are allowed at the campground but stables are very near by in the Fairgrounds. The sites are all pretty level with the parking areas paved. Grass and groomed gravel areas too. There are various sized sites most are back in. When checking online, and that's where you must reserve your site, there is a very good map with the site lengths listed. Our number 1 site was over 60 feet long and large for our 34 foot long 5th wheel and our Chevy truck. Most of the sites are full hookup with 30 and 50 amp electric. Water and sewer dump. There is also a sewer dump station with 4 dumps, located just west of this park. There is NO wifi provided in the park, but being pretty centralized in the area, cell service is very good. I had full bars of 4G service on my AT&T 5G phone. There is a building with bathroom and showers available if needed, at the south end of the park. Our site was just along the road and it was pretty noisy but it did calm down at night. Dogs are allowed but must be leashed and picked up after. For a Fairgrounds campground it is a bit pricey compared to the other Fairground Camping we've utilized, this is still a very nice facility and we would and probably will use it again.
Scout
All the state (not Federal) parks at both Priest and Lake Pend Oreille (Farragut) have become prohibitively expensive for out of staters. Per the Boise newspaper a state legislator from Hayden. ID was angered that he was unable to camp the state parks in his area at the drop of a hat 'due to the large number of out of state campers'(who had the foresight to make reservations months in advance). He was able to push a punitive bill through the State legislature which effectively more than doubled out of state camp fees in these two parks. Not only is the camp site at least twice as expensive but there is now a daily vehicle fee added. A basic campsite (no utilities) can now cost upwards of $70 per night.
TravelerThis campground stretches along a tributary of the CdA river, and there is great tent camping and fly fishing. Downside is that there is limited vehicle access to most spots.
GuideExtremely clean, looks very new, and lots of space between sights. Lacks trees, but trees just need time to grow and mature. Centrally located with Costco just a few blocks away.
ScoutNice little campground by the water. Really quiet, nice space in between sites. Bathrooms are okay.
ScoutEasy to find & plenty of short noticed camping sites available.
GuideWe love round lake!!! We coMe here all the time. But, we stayed in a different part of the park than we normally do. And it felt like a completely different stay. That is why we are doing another review. This place is the best!
GuideWe had a great time. This park is not far from our home,so we have come here a handful of times. The park is clean, and well taken care of. We have a favorite spot. We hiked the Round Lake trail. It also was very well maintained.
ScoutSwung by here yesterday (late Dec) after calling to confirm hookups were still functional. There was only one hookup spot plowed, and it’s connectivity was not stable. We decided not to stay as our Tesla kept reporting electrical risk every 10 minutes. Not worth the risk to car camp when it’s 18 degrees.
RangerNot the best place to hang out, unless you are attending an event here.
The RV map I included makes it look a lot nicer than it is, but it’s not terrible. By biggest complaint is that there are few trees.
It’s a reasonable size plot of land where you can park your RV.
They do not allow tent sites but you really would not want to camp that way in this space.
There is space to spread out and hang out side, and it has mixed terrain of pavement and gravel.
There is not much cover here so having a way to shade yourself if the summer is key to being cool in the few hottest weeks of the year.
It can get pretty noisy in this area depending on the time of year that you go, but that’s what you expect with a city parking spot with festivities around.
Guide
No car access which makes it much quieter and less used. I was there on a hot July weekday and there were only two parties camping, both which had come by canoe. There is a Vault toilet. There are a few picnic tables, and a few fire rings down on the lakeshore, but lots of sites in addition to the developed sites scattered in the trees. No running water. A beautiful, easy trail to hike in to the campground which took about an hour from the trailhead.
ScoutNo Reception! We didn't find it since there is no reception anywhere nearby and ended up at Bumblebee. If you head toward Breakwater though, there are several other free spots to camp.
GuideStayed hear for two nights in spot 15. All sites are very large, covered in shade, and plenty of flat ground for a tent if that’s your jam.
Spending the hot afternoon floating and fishing the lake was perfect. Morning walks in the trails were peaceful with coffee in hand!
Clean bathrooms, showers, and friendly staff. Can’t go wrong!
GuideEnded our tour of Northern Idaho at spot #140. Tons of flat area to put down a tent, mosquito shade (they are pretty bad), and enjoy the amazing view!
Bathrooms with vault toilets, water pump, and grey water dump all just a short walk away
ScoutWe stayed in a tent only spot - spot 17 I think. The spot was somewhat small. I’d say the largest tent it would accommodate is an 8 person cabin tent. Also the end of the site (where we put our tent) is slightly slanted. So that was frustrating. The campsite was clean and well maintained. This spot is somewhat private because there’s only a spot on one side of it. Although that other spot is close. This spot is very close to the main hiking trail, that leads around the lake and to the beach area. Probably about 15 feet away, down a slight hill. This makes it nice for recreation, but also means people are walking that trail all day. There’s a one toilet bathroom relatively close to this spot. But it’s not that clean and somewhat yucky. Round lake is beautiful with a lot of recreation. I enjoyed camping here and will be going back!
ScoutLove staying here, we stay here every summer. Enjoy the lake and it’s only 20 mins from Silverwood theme park.
GuideI’ve been to Priest countless times. Camp in the woods or on the beach. Upper or lower Priest Lake.
Idaho offers a fantastic experience for horse camping enthusiasts, with a variety of campgrounds that cater to both riders and their equine companions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular equestrian campsite near Kootenai, ID?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular equestrian campground near Kootenai, ID is Round Lake State Park Campground with a 4.2-star rating from 14 reviews.
What is the best site to find equestrian camping near Kootenai, ID?
TheDyrt.com has all 9 equestrian camping locations near Kootenai, ID, with real photos and reviews from campers.
